Rosin - A new trend in Amsterdam coffee shops

A new trend

Although in the last years the United States has maintained its pioneer position in this field, Amsterdam now definitively starts to defend its historical reputation. If in the last year you have had the chance to cruise through the city of canals and visit some coffee shops, you may have noticed that most shop menus now carry a variety of concentrates. Most cannabis cups even adopted a category dedicated to this extracted form of THC. Many concentrate enthusiasts travel far to satisfy their refined tastes.

There is one new concentrate that has really struck a chord, and has distinguished itself from the pack. With its efficient solvent-less extraction system, its simple and safe technique and its pure potency, rosin has won us (and most of Amsterdam) over.

Rosin production

Rosin is an extraction technique that only uses heat and pressure to obtain a resinous sap directly from the plant material. (For the fans of trivial information: the name actually seems to come from the similarity in consistency with the lubricant used to maintain violin bows.)

Unlike other hash oils, this extraction is solvent-less, which means that there are no toxic or potentially harmful substances used to obtain Rosin. To separate the crystals from the leaf, other butane hash oil (BHO) concentrates use butane, alcohol or propane, making it likely that some of these gases are left behind in the final product. With Rosin, you never have to worry about left-over solvents affecting your high or health.

DIY!

The production of Rosin can be undertaken with any quantity of dry weed or hash (okay, let's say at least 2 grams) and in the comfort of your own home. You will need a hair straightener, parchment paper (or special rosin bags), oven mitts, a scraping tool or tweezers and your plant material.

The weed or hash is placed in folded parchment paper, put in between the two hot arms of the hair straightener and squeezed. The substance left behind on the parchment paper is your gold.

The one slightly tricky part which might require a bit of experience lies in fine-tuning the ratio between the temperature of the iron and the force you squeeze its arms with. You will have to play a bit to find your best results.

So: purer, safer, easier...what's the catch?

Yes, we are perfectly aware that all this might sound like an urban legend that your older brother told you when you were fourteen to impress and take the piss. But we are not your older brother, and we were just as impressed the first time we tried this hash oil.

It is great that sometimes the biggest trends in a very specialized and innovative industry are actually achieved through most simple and accessible tools and techniques. We like that.